It's been a big year for Rami Malek, mainly because of his Golden Globe-nominated turn as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. Suffice it to say that Malek has graduated to being a full-blown movie star, which ideally means various unique opportunities are coming his way. Apparently one of those included being looked at to play the villain in Bond 25.
This information was provided by Variety, the article noting that even if Eon Productions offers Rami Malek the main antagonist role for Bond 25, scheduling conflicts will prevent this from happening even if he's offered the part. That's because from next March to July, Malek will be busy filming the last season of Mr. Robot, which overlaps with when Bond 25 will be filming. So sorry to the Bohemian Rhapsody and Mr. Robot fans out there, but you'll have to wait to see Malek join James Bond's world, if at all.
It's possible that this villain that Rami Malek was being eyed for was the same one Wonder Woman actor Saïd Taghmaoui he'd been approached about back when Danny Boyle was still the director. With Malek seemingly out of the picture, it's unclear if Taghmaoui is being looked at again or if a new actor will be considered, but with several months to go before production begins, casting will need to happen soon.
As far as returning faces go, Bond 25 is on solid ground. Daniel Craig will make his fifth and final outing as James Bond, and he'll be joined by Lea Seydoux's Dr. Madeleine Swann, Ralph Fiennes' M, Ben Whishaw's Q and Namoie Harris' Moneypenny. There's still no word yet, though, on if Christoph Waltz will be back as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Spectre's main antagonist.
Behind the camera, Danny Boyle was originally supposed to direct Bond 25, but in late August, five months after he'd been hired for the job, he stepped away due to creative differences. Boyle's frequent collaborator, John Hodge, also stepped away as script writer. Now Cary Fukanaga of True Detective and Maniac fame is helming Bond 25, and will work off a script penned by 007 veterans Neal Purvis and Robert Wade.
Plot details for Bond 25 are still understandably being kept under wraps, but recently Cary Funkaga said the movie will complete the story that began with 2006's Casino Royale, Daniel Craig's debut as James Bond. That's fitting, because arguably more than any of the James Bonds before him, each story Craig's 007 has starred in has felt like one chapter in a continuous story rather than just self-contained movie after self-contained movie. As for which villain will antagonize him this time around and who will play that individual, that remains to be determined.
Bond 25 hits theaters on February 14, 2020, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on its progress. As for movies that are arriving a little sooner, you can browse through our 2019 release schedule for that information.
